ON/OFF

 

taken in: Paris, Mallorca, Prague, Brussels, Waterloo, Bruges and Brighton

 OLB

nomadic pal num. 5 : hynd lalam

FINALLY! Sorry for the wait. 

OLB.

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I AM: Hynd, 21. HOME: Paris, France
I'M CURRENTLY: studying Comparative Literature with a minor in Latin and interning for The Beckett Letters
I DIG: Shakespeare, fine cuisine and Patrick
DESTINATION: le sultanat d’Oman
WHAT: relaxation and some well overdue family time
WHY: a last, desperate attempt to flee the horrors of the French winter
WHEN: December 2011
WEATHER: wonderfully mild
TRIP TUNES: lots of Corinne Bailey Rae, Bob Marley and the inevitable Adele
TRIP THREADS: long flowy dresses and headscarves to visit the Mosques
TRIP READS: The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility.
CAN'T FORGET EVEN IF I TRIED: my mother bargaining like a straight up thug for the most beautiful necklace I have ever laid eyes on.
NEXT STOP: lots of European capitals are booked on my calendar for now, but I’d love to see New Zealand someday.

BEST

RELAXATION SPOT: endless dips in the Gulf of Oman followed by unsuccessful tan-sessions on the hotel’s hammocks.
MEAL: the Omani cuisine is very close to what I know as Indian so lots of biryani rice and deliciously spicy sauces. Their coffee is by far the strongest and most sour I have ever tasted. Ironically, I also came to taste divine pasta in Oman.
DRINK: none alcoholic please, (Muslim country) – but delicious fresh squeezed juices as well as the usual bubbly-sugar-filled refreshments
ADVENTURE: running through the desert dunes of Rimal Wahiba, with my (ill-treated) bare feet
SLEEP/LACK OF SLEEP: one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever seen – Al Bustan Palace, built by the Sultan himself. Highly recommended.

nomadic pal num. 4 : sacha pytka

 

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YOU: Sacha Pytka, 23 (of Soyons Ouf) HOME: Venice Beach, CA 

I'M CURRENTLY: On lockdown in LA until I finish my next samples and head to Europe. 

I DIG: Cooking, clothes, and adventures. 

DESTINATION: Moscow, Russia 

WHAT: My friend Aline and I thought it would be fun to do a girls weekend in Russia with our little sisters.  Arielle and I got our tickets and visas, but my friends didn’t get their act together so it was  a sisters weekend. 

WHY: Curiosity 

WHEN: February 2009 

WEATHER: FREEZING 

TRIP TUNES: Whatever we were dancing to! 

TRIP THREADS: An amazing white fox fur coat given to me by my grandma. I could have been naked under that thing and still have been warm. 

CAN'T FORGET EVEN IF I TRIED: Arielle’s grand finale fall while ice skating in the Red Square. 

NEXT STOP: Back to Paris, then surfing in Mexico!

BEST

RELAXATION SPOT: The jacuzzi at our hotel- the Mariott Moscow Royal Aurora. It’s all you want after walking out in the cold all day. 

MEAL: I can't say it was my favorite meal, but certainly the most Russian meal we had was at the super-traditional Café Pushkin. Lots of pickles and cabbage and things of the sort, but the restaurant itself is stunning.  

DRINK: Beluga Vodka. I don’t like vodka very much, but when in Rome… This was the most highly recommended vodka from room service and I must say it was delectable.  I found it at a liquor store nearby here in California.  When I brought it up to the register, the Russian cashier asked me “How do you know about Beluga?”  He was quite impressed. 

ADVENTURE: Trying to cross the street.  The avenues there are basically 4 to 6 lane highways with no visible crosswalks. We rush across one trying to get to the Red Square, and a group of police officers approach us and start speaking to us in Russian.  Our stomachs drop. “We don’t speak Russian.” They look us up and down. “Give me your passports.”  There’s no way I’m giving these guys our passports. We smile, play dumb and walk away very fast saying we don’t have them on us.  We later find out there are underground tunnels.  We also befriended the gay man who sold me a pair of boots. He took us to Vika Gazinskaya’s fashion show at TSUM department store and we wound up partying at a Russian gay bar, that was pretty fun too.  Also, our flight home was cancelled and we had to stay in an airport hotel for the night. A chocolate and vodka fueled karaoke party ensued with the rest of the stranded passengers. 

SLEEP/LACK OF SLEEP: Simachev- This is the only club that I remember the name of, but we danced to everything from badass Russian rap to Backstreet Boys.

Arielle

Cafe Pushkin

  Trying to cross the street

 inside the super luxurious mall GUM

 

Arielle modeling some great finds from a shop in an underground crosswalk tunnel. my fur hat and her pilot's jumpsuit.

Red Square and GUM